NEW YORK CITY POLICE SEIZE DRUG-USE ITEMS

NEW YORK (AP) -- More than 100 people were arrested in a citywide police
sweep to seize illegal drug paraphernalia, some of which was confiscated
from tobacco shops, bodegas and grocery stores, Police Commissioner Raymond
Kelly said Friday.

A total of 58 stores citywide were searched and now these businesses face
possible civil action in court, and could be shut down, Kelly added.

"In a single day, we got massive amounts of illegal paraphernalia off the
streets of New York, and arrested 124 criminals who peddle them," the
commissioner said.

"Operation Crop" -- which stands for Coordinated Response to Outlawed
Paraphernalia -- ended Thursday after several weeks of undercover officers
purchasing some paraphernalia. The operation was formed as part of the
NYPD's campaign to fight quality-of-life crimes.

Dozens of bags of paraphernalia was seized, from crack pipes to rubber
stamps used to mark drug packages. Also seized was $99,000 in cash. Kelly
estimated the paraphernalia seized was worth about several hundred thousand
dollars.